By JESSE GRAHAM
VISITORS and residents alike will have another reason to step on up to Warburton, with a community mosaic project finished and officially unveiled last Friday.
The Great Steps of Warburton mosaic project was officially opened on Friday 15 August, with a crowd of residents, artists, school children and council representatives gathering to mark the occasion.
The steps leading to the Warburton Waterwheel Information Centre now house the project, with colourful mosaic tiles adorning the front of the stairs.
The project was the brainchild of artists Sioux Dollamn, Sandy Peeters and Aileen Wright, and hundreds of school children and residents helped to bring it to fruition.
Warburton Community Bank’s Suyin Chan helped to open the steps, and she said the project had resulted in a beautiful piece of artwork that people would travel from far and wide to see.
“(The steps) are something people can see every day, and be proud of having helped to create,” she said.
Ms Chan said the steps were inspired by a picture posted online two years ago of similar mosaic steps in San Francisco, and that the artists wanted to involve the community in a practical way.
By the time the project was completed, primary, secondary and VCAL students, Eastern Access Community Health, residents, Upper Yarra Artisans and many more people had all contributed.
The artists themselves then made a special appearance, running up and down the steps to the Rocky theme song and thanking everyone involved in the project.
Yarra Ranges Council, Warburton and Yarra Junction Community Bands and the Warburton Advancement League all helped to fund the Great Steps of Warburton project.
Councillor Jim Child spoke at the opening ceremony, and thanked community members for their “amazing effort” in putting the mosaic together.
He said the steps were another major drawcard for the area, and a successful result for a community-based initiative.
“Warburton – congratulations on this wonderful community effort,” he said.
